This is not only one of Scarlatti's more popular sonatas, but one of his more high-spirited and energetic. Those familiar with the composer's works are aware that he wrote hundreds of sonatas that can be described as "high-spirited and energetic," but this D major effort features memorable themes and a breathless, ebullient character that linger in the mind long after a single hearing. Preserved in the 12th Venice volume of Scarlatti's sonatas, dated 1756, the work probably was written in the mid-1750s.

Marked Presto, it opens with an infectious, lively theme whose bristling energy and exuberance infuse the piece with a mixture of joy and busyness. The theme is built upon short repeated, rhythmic phrases and its related material is similarly fashioned, but also features brilliant scales that spray the musical landscape with playful swirls of notes. As usual, the development section occupies the latter half of the Sonata and the mood here turns a bit subdued at the outset, but soon brightens, especially with the return of the colorfully virtuosic scales. This Sonata in D major is often viewed as yet another example of the composer imaginatively imitating the sounds of the guitar.

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